PG&E charged with obstruction in fatal explosion

Jul. 29, 2014
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FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2010 file photo, a massive fire following a pipeline explosion roars through a mostly residential neighborhood in San Bruno, Calif. Top California regulators communicated often and enthusiastically with executives at Pacific Gas & Electric Co., even offering unsolicited advice on handling the media while they presided over a case to decide how much the utility should pay for a deadly explosion in a San Francisco Bay Area suburb, according to a trove of emails released Monday, July 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) ORG XMIT: FX102 / Jeff Chiu AP

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Pacific Gas & Electric is accused of lying to regulators in connection with a fatal pipeline explosion that leveled a suburban Northern California neighborhood in 2010.

The U.S. attorney in San Francisco announced the obstruction of justice charge and 27 related counts Tuesday. The new indictment replaces a previous indictment that contained 12 counts, but not obstruction.

Prosecutors say PG&E hampered the investigation by lying to regulators immediately after the blast. The other charges accuse the utility of failing to act on threats in its pipeline system even after the problems were identified by its own inspectors.

The explosion destroyed 38 homes, killed eight people and injured dozens. PG&E faces hundreds of millions of dollars in fines if found guilty.

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